Friday, April 29, 2011

Is the glorified body of Jesus physical?

2nd Sunday of Easter,
John 20:19-31

Jesus came and stood in
their midst […] he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced
when they saw the Lord.

On
occasion, various modern theologians will speculate as to the quality of Christ’s
risen and glorified body. Some will affirm that – since what was sown in
mortality is raised in immortality, and the corruptible is raised incorruptible
– the resurrected body of our Savior is not really a physical body. Indeed,
this was a question or doubt which has existed since the first apparitions,
when the disciples often thought that they were seeing a ghost or spirit.

This question, whether Christ’s glorified body
is a physical body, has great importance for our belief in the general
resurrection on the last day. If Christ’s body were not physical, then neither
will the glorified bodies of the saints be physical. However, if the glorified
body of the Savior is a physical body, then so too will it be for the saints.

In
such matters, reason alone can do nothing – we must turn to the witness of
Scripture. In particular we consider the accounts of this Sunday’s Gospel as
well as the Gospel readings from the rest of the Easter Octave.

Our Savior’s risen body is
physical

Time
and again after the Resurrection, the Good Jesus proved to his disciples (both
through his words and his actions) that his glorified body was a true and physical
body. Before considering what it means to state that the glorified body is “physical,”
we consider the relevant verses.

Consider
Luke’s account after the incident on the road to Emmaus where our Lord made it
very clear that his glorified body is physical: And he said to them: Why are you troubled, and why do thoughts arise in
your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle, and see:
for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as you see me to have. And when he had
said this, he shewed them his hands and his feet. But while they yet believed not,
and wondered for joy, he said: Have you any thing to eat? And they offered him
a piece of a broiled fish, and a honeycomb. And when he had eaten before them,
taking the remains, he gave to them. (Luke 24:38-43)

And
from this Sunday’s Gospel: He shewed them
his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the
Lord. (John 20:20 – Gavisi sunt
discipuli, viso Domino)

A
body which can be seen, touched, and handled, a body which can touch, can
breath (as our Lord breathed upon the Apostles), can eat, a body which bears
the marks of the crucifixion is certainly a physical body. Indeed, in order for
a body to be a body, it must be physical – for that is what a body is: A hunk
of matter [the word “body,” does not refer merely to a human or animal body,
but to any portion of matter – as in, “a body in motion tends to stay in motion…”].

“Given
all these testimonies, Christ’s Resurrection cannot be interpreted as something
outside the physical order, and it is impossible not to acknowledge it as an
historical fact” (CCC 643). “By means of touch and the sharing of a meal, the
risen Jesus establishes direct contact with his disciples. He invites them in
this way to recognize that he is not a ghost and above all to verify that the
risen body in which he appears to them is the same body that had been tortured
and crucified, for it still bears the traces of his passion” (CCC 645).

Indeed,
in order for the Resurrection to be a true re-surrection, it is necessary that
the very same physical body which was laid in the tomb be also raised on the
third day. If the risen body is not physical, then it is not the same body
which was crucified, nor is it a “body” at all, but a spirit. Remember, St.
Paul said that the body would be raised immortal and incorruptible – but he did
not say it would be raised immaterial!

Our Savior’s risen body is
glorified

Still,
while the risen body is indeed physical, “this authentic, real body possesses
the new properties of a glorious body: not limited by space and time but able
to be present how and when he wills; for Christ’s humanity can no longer be
confined to earth and belongs henceforth only to the Father’s divine realm”
(CCC 645). And what are the new properties of the glorified body? Impassibility,
subtlety, agility and clarity. Today, we will consider the first two; next
week, we will consider the remaining.

By
impassibility, we mean that the risen body of Christ is totally subject to his
rational soul which, in turn, is totally subjected to God – therefore, his
passions in no way move the body contrary to the soul. This, of course, was
always the case for our Savior; since he suffered no least internal
imperfection of the passions.

By
subtlety, we mean that the risen body of Christ is in some way like a spirit.
However, it would be a heresy to claim that the risen body is a spirit or that
the matter has been rarefied to be like the air or the wind. Rather, we must
hold that the risen body of Jesus is subtle insofar as the body is perfectly subject
to the soul. The new dominion which the glorified soul of Christ now has over
his body is the reason of which his glorified body is said to be spiritual.
This subtlety is the foundation of all the other properties of the glorified
body.

Is the risen body of Christ
subject to space and time?

The
Catechism of the Catholic Church very clearly states that the risen body of
Jesus is “not limited by space and time” (CCC 645). However, we must qualify
this claim. Obviously, if the risen body is physical, before the Ascension, it is
present in (if not limited by) both space and time. Jesus really did appear to
his disciples in time (mostly on Sundays) and in space (whether near the tomb,
or in the upper room, or on the road).

Moreover,
although the Lord suddenly appeared and disappeared before his disciples, it is
not possible for any physical body to teleport or to enter into and to fall out
of existence. Rather, when Christ came into the upper room (as in our Sunday
Gospel), he walked through the walls of the locked room. He was able to do
this, not simply by virtue of his glorified body, but by virtue of his divinity
acting in and through his glorified body.

Although
Christ can appear when, where, and how he pleases; still, his risen body is
physical and retains the essential properties of a physical body. For example,
his glorified body is always in a place equal to itself (even in heaven),
though he need not be in a limiting or containing place. Likewise, the glorified body of
our Lord must cross space in order to move (i.e. it does not and cannot teleport,
simply falling out of existence in one place and entering into existence in
another place).

The
glorified body of our risen Savior is a true, physical body; yet, the life it
lives is the life of the spirit, a divine life which greatly exceeds natural
life – not contradicting nature, but elevating it and bringing it to perfection.

For more on this, consider St.
Thomas’ treatment of the glorified bodies of the saints: ST Supplement,
qq.79-85 (especially q.82 on impassibility and q.83 on subtlety).

3
comments:

Nick, An interesting question ... through the sacraments (especially the Eucharist) and the gift of God, her soul participated in the Resurrection and in the life of heaven through grace (which is the seed of eternal life) ... it does not seem that her body participated in this (except in accord to the quieting of the passions, which were always ruled by her reason) until after her Assumption.

Of course, her prayers were extremely important in meriting the descent of the Holy Spirit and the gift of Confirmation.

IMO the glorified body exists neither in time or space. Time & Space are 'accidents' to the body. John Paul II: 'Heaven is not a place but a state." Hence no extension in space, it is invisible, but still a 'physical body', but in its perfect state.